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Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forestry

Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forestry


Postby major ac » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:55 pm

Hi

Looking for information re planting on the northern slopes of Bheinn Breac Liath (Glen Orchy) as I walked this hill and Beinn Udlaidh on Sunday (I stay in Argyll and Bute). There has been significant tree planting (predominantly conifer) on the northern slopes of the hill and the flat area which leads out to the road. I'm concerned that as the plantation grows there won't be a way to access the hill anymore as there was no obvious ride for people to walk. There is already a 7ft high deer fence which crosses the ridge with no stile or gate which is not marked on the map.

My main concern would be that if people were unaware of the potentially impassable plantation when they were heading downhill they may be encouraged to head off on a steeper part of the hill leading to potential danger.

Cheers
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby iain_atkinson_1986 » Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:54 pm

If memory serves you can do these two hills from the south. I wouldn't want to turn up on the day without having had a look at the forestry on the south side. The map shows it being pretty extensive but I remember seeing a fair sized gap in it that seemed to go all the way down the road.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby prog99 » Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:39 pm

The approach from Glen Orchy farm is fine for Beinn Udlaidh, its how we approach the winter climbing in the corrie. Just don't go through the farm initially but through the 1st field to reach the forest track.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby major ac » Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:46 pm

prog99 wrote:The approach from Glen Orchy farm is fine for Beinn Udlaidh, its how we approach the winter climbing in the corrie. Just don't go through the farm initially but through the 1st field to reach the forest track.


Not sure you'd want to do Beinn Breac Liath from Glen Orchy Farm which is the hill with the new extensive forestry plantation - probably a bit too much of a diversion for most folk and you would also be stuck with finding a way on and off the hill.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby jmarkb » Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:38 am

I have read several other reports mentioning this fence, bit I don't know any more about it. It will be a pity if the normal route becomes unviable: it's a natural circuit and the quartz dyke on Udlaidh is a unique feature. An approach to this pair from a layby on the A82 at NN323337 (optionally including Beinn Bheag) could be a reasonable alternative.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby Paul Webster » Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:54 pm

There's a complaint in with the access officer about the fence. If anyone else who has seen it wanted to raise it as well it will help get a stile put in sooner.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby iain_atkinson_1986 » Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:23 pm

jmarkb wrote:I have read several other reports mentioning this fence, bit I don't know any more about it. It will be a pity if the normal route becomes unviable: it's a natural circuit and the quartz dyke on Udlaidh is a unique feature. An approach to this pair from a layby on the A82 at NN323337 (optionally including Beinn Bheag) could be a reasonable alternative.


Was November 2019 I did this circuit and I think the fence was on the north shoulder of Beinn Bhreac-liath but but looked to continue quite far down towards Coire Ghamhnain. The fence looked pretty new. I climbed over it with no issues but a stile would have been nice.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby major ac » Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:41 pm

Good news about the fence if that's sorted and a stile is put in however the real issue is the new forestry as when this matures there won't be any access to the hill at all as no forest rides have been put in. There is planting to c. 450m all over the northern slopes which will mean that the only possible route will be on the western slopes which are too steep and full of cliffs for safe walking.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby Skyelines » Wed Mar 03, 2021 4:39 pm

Judging by the Google earth imagery the numerous water courses down the hill will provide reasonable access as the evidence for the new planting that can be seen does not go right to the edge of these streams.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.501019,-4.7875794,182a,35y,132.19h,77.46t/data=!3m1!1e3
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby Giant Stoneater » Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:07 pm

jmarkb wrote:I have read several other reports mentioning this fence, bit I don't know any more about it. It will be a pity if the normal route becomes unviable: it's a natural circuit and the quartz dyke on Udlaidh is a unique feature. An approach to this pair from a layby on the A82 at NN323337 (optionally including Beinn Bheag) could be a reasonable alternative.


Thats the way we approached these hills, at the time there was very little in way of a path and it was a bit of a slog going through Coire Chailein to bealach, if i was to do it again i would cross the river to right hand side and go up the side of the forest towards Cam Chreag,that was the way we came down.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby major ac » Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:59 pm

Skyelines wrote:Judging by the Google earth imagery the numerous water courses down the hill will provide reasonable access as the evidence for the new planting that can be seen does not go right to the edge of these streams.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.501019,-4.7875794,182a,35y,132.19h,77.46t/data=!3m1!1e3


Unfortunately that's not the new planting that I'm writing (complaining!) about. The new planting hasn't been picked up by the Google imagery yet but covers all the area mentioned in the WH route description for these 2 hills (albeit I did the route in reverse and followed the Cicerone route guide from their southern Corbetts book by Brian Johnson).

You can see the area if you turn on the woodland options dataset in the Scottish forestry map viewer here https://scottishforestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0d6125cfe892439ab0e5d0b74d9acc18
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby Roundfella » Sat Jun 04, 2022 10:24 pm

I encountered this deer fence and new planting today, dropping off the hill. I hadn't read this thread previously. There is no style yet but somebody (not me, to be clear) has cut a way through the fence at the top of the ridge.

The new planting seems to be mostly Sitka, as major ac said, with a fringe of native species by the burns. It will be very hard to get up/down once it grows up - it's already difficult as the planting goes right to the edge of the burns, and is the sort where they cut a deep hole, turn the turf over and then stick a tree in the mound. In other words, it's a series of ankle-snapping trip hazards.
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Re: Beinn Udlaidh - Beinn Bhreac Liath new plantation forest

Postby BigTed » Fri Jun 10, 2022 6:04 pm

Should it not be gates rather than stiles to pass these fences as access includes access with dogs? Lifting a 20kg dog over a 6ft stile is not easy.

I'm not suggesting people need to start carrying saws or wire cutters as part of their kit but there is no excuse for landowners to be ignoring access laws. In the overall cost of planting a forest and fencing it a pedestrian gate either side must be trivial.
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